Personnel of the Macon County Sheriff's Office
Sheriff
Sheriff Jim Root was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois. He graduated from Eisenhower High School and joined the United States Marine Corps. After completing his military service and receiving an honorable discharge, Sheriff Root received an associate's degree from Richland Community College.
Sheriff Root began his Law Enforcement career in 1996 and attended the University of Illinois Police training Institute basic police training academy. Sheriff Root has held a variety of positions within the Macon County Sheriff's Office including working in the Patrol Division, working narcotics assigned to the Illinois State Police Drug Task Force, the Investigations Division, Patrol Supervisor, and Emergency Management Coordinator.
Working through the ranks from Deputy to Detective, to Sergeant and then Lieutenant, Sheriff Root has also served on the Sheriff's office Special Response team for over 12 years. He is currently an instructor at the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center and has been since it opened in 2018 teaching firearms, active shooter response training and emergency management to new recruits.
Sheriff Root married his wife Amy in 1998 and has four adult children.
Chief Deputy
Chief Deputy Matthew Jedlicka's biography will be posted shortly.
Lieutenants
Lieutenant Scott Flannery
Lieutenant Scott Flannery is a graduate of Oakwood High School. He earned his Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice from Danville Area Community College and his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Eastern Illinois University.
After college, he was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army. During his service, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and later commanded the Military Police Company at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Following his military career, Lt. Flannery joined the Litchfield Police Department before transferring to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in 2006. Throughout his tenure, he has served in a variety of roles, including Field Training Officer, Bike Patrol Officer, Accident Reconstruction Specialist, and SRT Assistant Team Leader.
He currently serves as the Patrol Operations Supervisor and Public Information Officer.
Lieutenant Jamie Belcher
Lieutenant Jamie Belcher is a graduate of Macon High School, now known as Meridian. During his senior year of high school, he was awarded the Illinois Sheriff's Association Scholarship for Macon County. After graduating in 1993, he went on to attend Richland Community College where he obtained his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. While attending Richland, he completed his internship with the Macon County Sheriff's Office.
Lieutenant Belcher's career began with the Sheriff's Office in April of 1996 as a correctional officer. Since then, he has held a variety of positions including deputy, 2nd and 3rd shift patrol, detective, sergeant and patrol lieutenant.
Belcher is currently assigned as the Jail Superintendent and P.R.E.A. Coordinator. Lt. Belcher is also the Social Media Coordinator and senior public information officer for the Sheriff's Office and Emergency Management.